A lawn sprinkler system is a great investment that can add convenience to your life as well as value to your home. It provides you with an easy and hassle-free way to water your lawn, ensuring that your lawn remains lush and healthy during dry spells. With proper care and maintenance, a lawn sprinkler system can provide you with these benefits for years to come. One of the key maintenance tasks that most homeowners will need to do for their lawn sprinkler system is to winterize their system before the first freeze of the year. This is a rather easy process to complete once you learn how to do it.
Shut Your System Down
As a first step to winterizing your lawn sprinkler system, you should shut your system down. This is first done by turning off the water source to the system at the main water valve. After turning off the water supply to the system, then shut down the main control system or timer to the system. This can be done by disconnecting the system from its power source or by switching your system to a “rain mode” setting. The method that is best suited for your system will depend on which type of system you have.
Backflow Preventer Removal
Once water and power sources of the system have been shut down, then remove the system’s backflow preventer. In most cases, a backflow preventer is attached with a union connection that can easily be uncoupled. This will allow you to drain the water from the backflow preventer and to store it safely in an area like your garage or storage shed until spring arrives. Attach a wet dry shop vacuum to your risers. If your risers are narrow or small, you may need to create siphons using duct tape shaped into cone shapes. The valves should also be drained and stored in a garage or storage shed. Once the backflow preventer has been removed and water has been drained from the system, you can install insulation in areas where pipes are exposed. This will prevent debris and animals from entering the system during the cold months until you are ready to bring the system back online.
Water RemovalYou should have already removed water from the backflow preventer, so now it is time to remove water from the sprinkler heads and pipes. If water is left in these features, it can expand when it freezes. This will result in ruptured pipes in many cases. You can use a wet dry shop vacuum on your pipes just as you did with your backflow preventer. However, this may be one of the more time consuming methods available. Other methods of water removal include the drain valve method and the blowout method. With the drain valve method is best used if your drain valve is located in an elevated position. You simply have to attach drain valves in the same location as where the remote controllers are located to full drain your system of water. You may still need to remove the sprinkler heads and suction water out of the sprinklers using a wet dry shop vacuum. The other method, known as the blowout method, is typically performed by sprinkler maintenance professional. It involves using an air compressor to blow air out of the valves one by one.
You should take steps to monitor the weather forecast during the fall months, and plan to perform your winterization service before the first freezing temperatures of the season arrive. This is a step that can maintain your system well and keep it in great condition for years to come. However, you should be aware that performing a winterization process fully and completely does require you to remove all of the water from the system. Any water remaining in the system ultimately can damage it. Many homeowners prefer to call a professional for assistance with this process in the early fall months rather than attempt to perform a lawn sprinkler winterization on their own. Keep in mind that the winterization process will need to be reversed in the spring once all risk of freezing temperatures has passed, and this will need to be performed before you will be able to use your sprinkler system again.
About the Author: Kerry Gibson runs All Green Lawn Sprinklers located in Toronto, Ontario. The company has been around for over 30 years and provides popular services like irrigation system installations, lawn sprinkler repair and maintenance and much more.